CLIENT AUTOMATION

Design, develop, and deploy a secure SFTP server solution that enables the transfer of documents between two parties.

The objective of this project was to design, develop, and deploy a secure SFTP server solution that enables the efficient and encrypted transfer of financial documents between the client's accounting department and their external accounting software partner. The solution was to facilitate a streamlined file transfer process that enhances collaboration between the two internal and external accounting teams. 

Once the Azure FTP server was configured with the appropriate authentication, encryption, access controls, and deployed, I was able to begin with my tasks of the file transfer automations. 

There were two separate automation flows that I created. One for .GL files and the other for .AP files. I began my part of the project by creating flow charts that took the general requirements from the client and mapped them out in specifics to give back to the client for their confirmation. 

Once confirmed, I started with the .GL file automation flow. I set up the on-prem data gateway so that Power Automate could talk to the VM server and the Azure SFTP Blob Storage. Then I designed the automated cloud flow. 

The .GL file flow was designed as such:

1. ​Recurrence

   • The recurrence was set to run once every hour.​​

2. Actions

   1. I listed all the files and folders within the specific path on the VM and ​compared it to the files and folders of the specific path on the Azure blob storage container. 

   2. I set up a condition that said if the files from the two paths are equal, do nothing. If they are not equal, cycle through each of the files and folders from the VM and create a copy of that file in the blob storage. Then create a date timestamp and append that to the VM's original file, move it to a processed folder, and delete it from the source folder. 

The .AP file flow was designed as such:

1. Recurrence 

   • The recurrence was set to run every night at 9pm EST.​​

2. Actions

   1. I listed all the files and folders within a specific path on the VM. I filtered that output for all of the folders that contained​ specific company codes. For every folder that contained one of those codes, I listed all of the files within that folder and created a copy of that file in the blob storage. I then took those files and moved them from their original folder on the VM and placed them in an archive folder. 

Throughout this process, I held multiple meetings with the client showcasing the automations, taking their feedback or modifications, and implementing them into the flow. Once perfected and approved by the client, I help user acceptance training and created documentation for them to use upon project completion and handoff. 

This project resulted in the reduction of manual intervention and user error by the client and enabled real-time and secure collaboration between the two parties.